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Sea Scouts

11/08/2009 - SEA SCOUTS STEP UP TO THE HONDA RYA YOUTH RIB CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE

Sea Scouts Billy Brooks, 14, and Jonathan Lile, 11, will be heading off to the PSP Southampton Boat Show in September where they will compete in the National Final of the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship after stepping up to the challenge and winning the first ever Sea Scout championship heats held last week (Wednesday, 5 August). The event was set up as part of the Sea Scout 100 Jamboree in Nottingham and Sea Scout troops from all over the country congregated at Holme Pierrepont for what proved to be a hotly contested event.

Posting a time of 1:17:69 Billy, racing for 6th Hamble Troop, took honours in the older 13-16 age group. Having competed at the south regional finals earlier this year, he had got some good practice in for the Sea Scout heats and that coupled with previous experience, driving various powerboats through his Scouting, proved a winning combination. "I'm really happy to have won that especially after missing out at the south region heats. I can't stop grinning!" Second and third places, Lewis Wells, 6th Newark, and Grant Freeman, 6th Hamble, finished extremely close with just 88 hundreds of a second separating them.

In the younger 8-12 age group competition wasn't quite as tight and to his surprise Jonathan, who only sparked an interested in power boating a couple of months ago at his troop 6th Newark, won the heats posting a time of 2:00:07 to secure his place at the final. He commented; "I can't believe I'm going to Southampton. I'm really taken aback as I completely wasn't expecting to win. I only had my first go in a powerboat in May! "

The HRYRC race course includes tricky timed manoeuvres such as a stop exercise, high speed slalom and reversing round buoys to test every aspect of powerboat driving. Skill and control, and not necessarily speed, are the most important factors to help the young drivers achieve winning times round the course.

Sea Scout volunteer Dave Roy who was helping coordinate the event commented; "I'm really pleased we were invited to take part in the RIB challenge - the kids have loved it. For most of them it was their first experience of driving a RIB and they learnt very quickly that they are much more responsive than the slower powerboats they have driven through Sea Scout activities and much more skill is required in manoeuvring them. After spending just 15-20 mins on the water during the challenge I could already see so much improvement from them and they are really hooked on getting better which is great."

Andrew Norton, RYA Motor Cruising Projects Manager, who runs the Championship said; "The challenge is all about getting more youngsters involved in powerboat driving, teaching them the skills to do it safely and responsibly early on. It's great to see the kids so keen to learn. I look forward to seeing how they building on the skills they have learnt here today."

Billy and Jonathan will face competition from 32 club regional finalists in Southampton so they will need to get practicing to be in with a chance of winning the national final prize for their troop - a brand new 4.8m Ribcraft RIB powerboat with a 50hp Honda four stroke engine on an Indespension trailer, equipped with an Icom 505 VHF radio.

Martin Moll, Head of Marketing for event sponsor Honda said: "We are very proud and pleased to be associated with the RYA Youth RIB Challenge for another year because it allows us to create links with the wider community - giving a younger generation access to our products and helping them engage with interactive, team based, social activities.

Furthermore, as a manufacturer which puts safety at the heart of everything we do, the RIB Challenge gives us a great opportunity to underline this commitment."

Thanks to Championship sponsors Honda, Ribcraft, ICOM and Indespension Trailers.

For more information about the Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship, details on how to get involved and a list of regional finals scores visit www.rya.org.uk.

For further media information:

RYA Press Office
Tel: 02380 604 208
Email: ellie.williamson@rya.org.uk

Honda Press Office
Tel: 01865 556000
E-mail: richard@agencybrazil.com or maddy@agencybrazil.com

 

Notes to Editors:

About Honda RYA Youth RIB Championship

  • Started in 2002, the Championship allows youngsters aged 8-16 to demonstrate their skills as expert boat handlers and improve their skills in a safe, controlled environment, with each competitor aiming to manoeuvre around a pre-set course in the quickest time. To ensure safety at all times each child is accompanied in the RIB by a competent adult/instructor.
  • There are sixteen regional finals across the whole of the UK and overseas. Winners from both the 8-12 and 13-16 age groups go on to represent the region at the National Final.

 

About the RYA

  • The RYA is the national body for all forms of recreational, competitive and professional boating. It represents dinghy and yacht racing, motor and sail cruising, RIBs and sportsboats, powerboat racing, windsurfing, inland cruising and personal watercraft.
  • The RYA is recognised by all government offices as being the negotiating body for the activities it represents. It continually fights for the rights and freedoms of its 102,000 personal members, the majority of whom choose to go afloat for purely recreational non-competitive pleasure on coastal and inland waters. There are an estimated further 500,000 boat owners nationally who are members of RYA affiliated clubs and class associations.
  • The RYA also sets and maintains a recognised standard for recreational boat training through a network of 2,340 RYA Recognised Training Centres in over 43 countries. On average 155,000 people per year complete RYA training courses.
  • The RYA is committed to promoting all forms of boating and making them accessible to everyone. For more information please refer to our web site www.rya.org.uk
  • RYA Sailability is the leading UK charity for disabled sailing and is the official charity of the RYA. Registered Charity Number: 1084351
  • You can find the RYA at RYA House, Ensign Way, Hamble, Southampton, SO31 4YA